Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games – Week 5 2018

Still looking solid, as we’re 11 for 15 on cashing lineups over the last three weeks! And we’re back for more cash in Week 5!

As usual, before we get to winning you bragging rights (and DFS cash), remember, the point of this article is not just to give you one lineup for each site, it’s to give you examples of one or two POSSIBLE lineups. Getting exposure to a few different lineups is always a good idea, so don’t forget to mix and match additional lineups from my suggestions below. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun that way AND you’ll improve your chances of cashing!

Let’s get to winning you some CASH in Week 5 of the 2018 NFL season!

Cash Games, for those who don’t know, are essentially the lowest risk games. They include “50/50” games, in which half the entrants win about 1.8x the entry fee, and “Double Ups”, in which slightly less than half the entrants win 2x the entry fee.

Since there’s so many different sites, and I can’t cover them all, I’ve decided to cover just the most popular sites, including Fan Duel, Draft Kings and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy.

First of all, as a general rule for 50/50 Cash Games, there’s a basic target of points per salary cap spent that you’d like to look for:

Remember, this article is not focused on GPP (Tournament) Games, JUST Cash Games. Feel free to use a few of these suggested players as a base when constructing a GPP lineup, but you’ll have to take some chances on a few low cost, upside players as well.

And this year, I’m trying something different. I’m going to list out all my favorite plays at each position and also provide you with a few sample lineups on each site. You’re welcome. 🙂

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games for Week 5 contests, along with they’re prices on Fan Duel (“FD”), Draft Kings (“DK”) and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy (“Y!”).

FanDuel

Again, to encourage some diversity in your lineups, I’m giving you two sample lineups for FanDuel this week.

Quarterbacks

Andy Dalton – USA Today Sports Photo

Ben Roethlisberger (FD: $8400 / DK: $6900 / Y!: $39)

Big Ben is at home and up against a weak Falcons defense that’s given up 3 passing TDs over each of the past three weeks. The Falcons were already thin due to the loss of Deion Jones, Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen, and now tackle Grady Jarrett is out. The Falcons can’t catch a break, but you can by playing basically every Steeler against them in DFS, particularly in a game that features the highest over/under by far (58) of any game this week.

Matt Ryan (FD: $8300 / DK: $6600 / Y!: $37)

Matt Ryan went big in Week 2 completing 23 of 28 passes for 272 yards, 2 TDs and an INT, also rushing for 2 TDs and went EVEN bigger in Week 3 with 5 TDs. He then managed perhaps to put on an even MORE bigger (is that bad grammer?) week against the Bengals in Week 4 with 419 passing yards and 3 TDs. He just keeps rolling, and now has a 10:1 TD to INT ratio over the last 3 games. The Steelers have been giving up all sorts over the air over the first quarter season, so I love grabbing Ryan this week if you want to pivot off Ben.

Andy Dalton (FD: $7500 / DK: $5900 / Y!: $27)

Andy Dalton just keeps producing. He did lose one of his big targets in Tyler Eifert, but he still has AJ Green and new big wig Tyler Bord. The Dolphins are reeling after a shellacking against the Pats, and low price and high upside is always a great mix for a DFS QB, so feel free to go with Dalton if you’re looking to save money.

Blake Bortles (FD: $7000 / DK: $5500 / Y!: $27)

No, Bortles is not consistent. But we’ve seen him put up 375+ yards and 2+ TDs in 2 of his last 3 weeks, plus the Chiefs have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Leonard Fournette is out, so more passing is in order, and there’s a chance that even with a solid Jaguars defense, Bortles may need to play catchup.

Running Back

Melvin Gordon

Todd Gurley (FD: $9100 / DK: $9400 / Y!: $39)

Todd Gurley is just money in the bank, but he’s really expensive. He’s involved in both the ground and pass game giving you a great floor if you can afford it, particularly against a gutted Seahawks defense that’s lost its last great defender to injury last week.

Melvin Gordon (FD: $8700 / DK: $8600 / Y!: $35)

Melvin Gordon also provides a terrific floor with upside being involved with both ground and pass game. In Week 4, he managed another 100-yard rushing day and caught a TD on a team-high 10 targets. He has terrific upside and saves you a little money over Gurley.

Christian McCaffrey (FD: $8100 / DK: $8000 / Y!: $28)

In Week 3, before the bye, Christian McCaffrey rushed for 184 yards on 28 carries. The Giants defense has been getting destroyed on the ground, most recently by Alvin Kamara, so I like the upside play of McCaffrey with the pass catching floor.

James Conner (FD: $7800 / DK: $7500 / Y!: $27)

James Conner has been a disappointment over the last two weeks, but is still an everydown back on a team with the highest over/under matchup this week. Plus, the coaching staff wants to give him even more touches early, both in term of targets and carries. Maybe he busts again, but his price seems right for the risk.

T.J. Yeldon (FD: $6500 / DK: $5600 / Y!: $22)

No Leonard Fournette, means T.J. Yeldon gets a chance to build on last week’s 18-52-1 on the ground and 3-48-1 through the air effort in another start against a really weak Chiefs defense. For the price, he’s a great play this week.

Matt Breida (FD: $6200 / DK: $5700 / Y!: $22)

Matt Breida didn’t have much production, but he still led the 49ers last week with 9 rushes for 39 yards and also caught all 3 targets for 32 yards. The Cardinals run defense has been horrific thus far, most recently being toasted by backup-backup Seahawks RB Mike Davis to the tune of 101 yards and 2 TDs. Brieda is a nice play if you want to save money at RB this week.

Wide Receivers

Julio Jones

Antonio Brown (FD: $9000 / DK: $9100 / Y!: $38)

JuJu Smith-Schuster (FD: $8000 / DK: $7500 / Y!: $30)

As I mentioned above with Big Ben, everyone in this Steelers v, Falcons game should be played, particularly against a banged-up Falcons secondary. Smith-Schuster is 8th in the NFL in yards over the air while Brown and Smith-Schuster are 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in targets. Load ‘em up if you can fit them.

Julio Jones (FD: $8800 / DK: $8500 / Y!: $34)

Calvin Ridley (FD: $6800 / DK: $5800 / Y!: $23)

As I mentioned above with Big Ben, everyone in this Steelers v, Falcons game should be played, particularly against a banged-up Falcons secondary. Smith-Schuster is 8th in the NFL in yards over the air while Brown and Smith-Schuster are 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in targets. Load ‘em up if you can fit them.

Jarvis Landry (FD: $6900 / DK: $6800 / Y!: $22)

Baker Mayfield makes the Browns pass offense exciting, and Jarvis Landry is one of his top targets, leading the team with 10 targets in Week 4, only managing 34 yards, but scored a TD. Maybe he’s not efficient, but he’s getting tons of opportunity on a team that’s likely to continue firing away.

Tyler Boyd (FD: $6300 / DK: $5700 / Y!: $20)

In Week 4, Tyler Boyd had a team-leading 15 targets, 11 receptions and 100 receiving yards. He’s rolling and is worth a look to save money at WR.

Quincy Enunwa (FD: $6100 / DK: $5200 / Y!: $21)

Sam Darnold may still need some seasoning, but he’s still making Quincy Enunwa relevant as his top target. His 37 targets account for almost a third (29%) of the Darnold’s targets, and his low price makes him a safe play with a decent floor.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling (FD: $4800 / DK: $3300 / Y!: $10)

Randall Cobb is out with a hamstring injury, Geronimo Allison hasn’t cleared the concussion protocol yet, and Davante Adams is fighting a calf injury. Next man up is Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Lions have a terrible pass defense, which will be even more terrible after losing Quandre Diggs to a broken hand, and the Packers ground game is still being sorted out, so someone needs to catch the ball. If you need a punt play at WR, MVS may be just what you were looking for.

UPDATE – Geronimo Allison has been ruled out and Davante Adams is in. MVS is locked in as WR2 this week for essentially free, so go ahead and load up.

Tight Ends

Zach Ertz

Zach Ertz (FD: $7500 / DK: $6500 / Y!: $22)

Apparently, Dallas Goedert is not quite ready for prime time, and Carson Wentz likes Zach Ertz, who caught 10 of his team-high 14 targets in Week 4 for 112 yards. There’s no reason not to believe he can’t do the same with TD upside.

Jimmy Graham (FD: $6100 / DK: $4700 / Y!: $17)

Like I said above about MVS, someone needs to catch passes in Green Bay, and Jimmy Graham is most likely to benefit. Graham saw 6 targets in Week 4 and caught his first TD, so he’ll definitely have something to build on.

Vance McDonald (FD: $4600 / DK: $3700 / Y!: $15)

Did I say that I like the Steelers this week? Well, that applies for all of them, including breakout TE Vance McDonald. McDonald had the huge stiff arm and score two weeks ago and is coming off 5 receptions for 62 yards last week, and is really really cheap. Go ahead and slot him in if you’d like to save money on TE.

Defense

Denver Broncos defense @ NYJ (FD: $4100 / DK: $3200 / Y!: $15)

The Broncos almost managed to keep flamethrower Patrick Mahomes in check in Week 4, and now they get to face rookie QB Sam Darnold. I like their chances to for some turnovers and a handful of sacks.

Tennessee Titans defense @ BUF (FD: $3900 / DK: $4000 / Y!: $21)

Let’s face it, the Bills are terrible. And the Titans have been a middle of the road defense, but that’s god enough against the Bills.